Can You Drink Weight Loss Shakes While Breastfeeding?
Meal replacement shakes can serve as a quick and convenient snack or alternative for a meal that contains many of the nutrients we need in our daily diet, usually with lower calorie content than most meals. This makes them a helpful food option for people who are trying to lose weight, but should you use them while you are breastfeeding?
How Do Weight Loss Shakes Work?
To understand whether it is safe to consume weight loss shakes while pregnant, we need to know why they can help us lose weight. The main characteristic of meal replacement shakes that makes them a useful weight-loss tool is that they contain a few calories per portion.
By removing the need to plan or cook meals, or control portion sizes, they can make it easier for many people to lose weight by maintaining a lower calorie diet. Additionally, their convenience can make it easier to avoid unhealthy diet choices such as fast food, skipping the time needed to prepare a balanced low-calorie meal.
The nutrient content of weight loss shakes can vary significantly from brand to brand, but many are high in protein. High protein foods create a greater sense of fullness after eating, reducing the impulse to overeat or crave high-calorie foods.1
They also support healthy weight loss by conferring several other health benefits, including 234
- Increased lean body mass
- Reduced body fat
- Less belly fat
- Greater tolerance to diet changes, reducing weight fluctuation
Eating home-cooked meals prepared with whole foods can provide all of the nutrients you need in low-calorie forms. However, this can be a more expensive way to eat as well as more time-consuming. When this is not an option, meal replacement shakes are designed to contain many of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients your body needs. Although relying on weight loss shakes as a regular meal can leave gaps in your nutrient intake, they often still offer much more nutritional value than other convenient foods that you could opt for when cooking a meal with whole foods is not an option.
Calorie Intake
One of the primary concerns with using meal replacement shakes is their low-calorie content. When you are breastfeeding, increased caloric intake is needed both for your health and nursing. Producing breast milk requires an additional 500 to 700 calories per day.
It is fine to use weight loss shakes as a quick snack or the occasional light meal. However, consistently using them as meal replacements will not give you enough calories to support a healthy diet. Additionally, regularly replacing meals with weight loss shakes could lead to deficiencies in key nutrients due to the small amount of food you eat.
Protein Intake
Many weight loss shakes are high in protein, and they can be a good way to add more protein to your diet when you are breastfeeding. Protein is an essential nutrient that your body needs to produce breast milk. Breastfeeding women should consume around 65 to 75 grams of protein a day, equivalent to about four chicken breasts, which have approximately 18 grams of protein each.
Unhealthy Ingredients
Some meal replacement shakes prioritize weight loss over providing a healthy nutritional balance. While they may reduce your calorie intake to help you lose weight, they might also contain unhealthy ingredients such as:
- Added sugars
- Corn syrup
- Hydrogenated vegetable oils
- Artificial flavors and preservatives
Added sugar is one of the most common unhealthy ingredients in weight loss shakes. Healthy meal replacement shakes do not need to contain more than a few grams of sugar.
Not A Permanent Weight Loss Solution
Reducing your caloric intake with meal replacement shakes can help start your body burn fat and losing weight. However, they enable this weight loss without a change in lifestyle or diet. As a result, unless you have changed your lifestyle and the way you eat, their effects only last for as long as you continue to replace meals with weight loss shakes.
Getting into a routine of regular exercise and healthy eating habits is the most effective way to maintain weight loss. Weight loss shakes can help support a healthy regimen by offering an alternative to fast food and other snacks, but they cannot replace it.
Weight Loss Alternatives For Breastfeeding Women
There are healthier ways to lose weight when breastfeeding than reducing your intake of calories, such as exercise. Not only does physical exertion burn off calories, but it also builds muscle tissue. Even when resting, muscle tissue burns more calories than fat. This means that regular physical exercise will improve the effects of anything else you do to lose weight. It also helps the stretched muscle tissues around your abdomen to shorten and return to their original position.
There are no negative effects of exercise on the quality or quantity of breast milk, although strenuous exercise should be avoided while you are still recovering from childbirth. Sweating causes you to lose fluids, however, so make sure you drink plenty of water to avoid a reduction in milk production. Additionally, some studies have suggested that high-intensity exercise can increase the amount of lactic acid in your breast milk. This is not harmful; however, it could affect the taste and cause the baby to reject nursing.5
Prepare Easy Meals In Bulk
One challenge of losing weight after pregnancy is that you are often too busy or just too tired to cook a healthy meal. While the occasional unhealthy snack won’t hurt you, this makes it all too easy to reach for unhealthy snacks or a fast food app when you’re hungry. Cooking easy meals that you can grab and eat quickly later can help avoid giving in to these temptations. For example, freeze portions of soup that you can quickly reheat for a quick meal or put into a thermos to carry as a snack.
Don’t Lose Weight Too Fast
Weight loss shakes are intended to accelerate weight loss by making your body break down fat for calories. When the chemical agents in your body fat are released into the bloodstream, they will also release toxins such as mercury that may be stored in your body fat such as mercury. If you lose weight quickly, the rapid release of these toxins can cause a high concentration in both your bloodstream and your breast milk.
On average, breastfeeding women lose around 2 pounds per month while breastfeeding. It is recommended not to lose weight until at least 6 to 8 weeks after childbirth. It is also important to remember that most women will lose around 5 pounds or so once they have stopped breastfeeding. Do not worry if you are losing weight slowly, as this is healthier than losing it too quickly. People lose weight at different rates, and some women can take up to a year to return to the weight they had before the pregnancy. Remember that it took you nine months to gain that weight, so it will not go away overnight.
Although you can regain your pre-pregnancy weight after you stop breastfeeding, you might not be the same size. It is common for pregnancy to cause permanent changes in your body shape.
Don’t Skimp On These Nutrients
Whether you are getting them from weight loss shakes or other sources, these key nutrients are vital for maintaining your health and energy while breastfeeding:
Omega 3
Omega 3 can be found in:
- Walnuts
- Fish
- Spinach
- Fortified breakfast cereals
Iron
Foods that contain a lot of iron include:
- Beef and Lamb
- Liver and organ meats
- Shellfish
- Legumes
- Pumpkin Seeds
Complex Carbohydrates
The best Complex carbohydrates come from whole starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, winter squashes and root vegetables. Avoid the white bread, crackers and pasta as they provide calories with little nutritional value.
Calcium
Calcium-rich foods include:
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Milk
- Almond milk
- Bananas
Conclusion
Overall, weight loss shakes are far from a complete solution to losing weight after pregnancy, especially while breastfeeding. They should not be discounted as part of a healthy weight loss plan. Used as a snack or the occasional quick meal, weight loss shakes offer a more nutritious and practical alternative to other foods, especially when you are pressed for time or on the move.
Remember that healthy weight loss happens over time and involves more than just your diet. Caring for a new baby can be exhausting, but making sure you get regular exercise while breastfeeding is vital not just for weight loss but for your overall health.
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